What is crackalacting Hardwin Knox listeners, I am Damp Valley coming at you without
my fantabulous co host Adam Promwell. I am, however, super pleased and
excited as always to be joined by a Bleacher Reports grant us, a good
friend and a long time colleague of mine. We with the the NBA kind
of mirroring the quarter mark of its season. We get into some big picture
questions relating to the league at large, certain teams that are just bandying about
our brains at the moment. We also have an in depth discussion about Luke
Walton being fired by the Sacramento Kings, the process of that decision, what
went into it, what should have gone into it, where they go from
here. That was a great talk. The entire episode is just awesome and
tackles against some real macro issues at least that are boring a hole in our
brains. We really get into the playoff pecking orders for each conference as well.
If you're listening to this the day before Thanksgiving as you travel, or
on Thanksgiving after Thanksgiving, whenever however you're listening to it, Happy Thanksgiving,
and just to shout out to everyone who continues to rock with us. We'll
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and how pleasantly sub mediocre our league wide basketball analysis is. Without further delay,
though, let's get to talking about some really fun, big questions and
topics related to the NBA and the rest of the season with Bleacher reports Grant
Hughes Brant, welcome back. Thank you so much again for coming back on
the Hardward Off podcast to talk hoops with me. I think this is a
good time as we lead into Thanksgiving and we're around the quarter mark, to
sort of just take stock of bigger picture things and just what are we asking
ourselves, like what are the biggest questions on our mind for the rest of
the season. Which is why I spammed you and asked you to come on
this week, and you graciously accepted. First and foremost, though we were
recording this on a Tuesday night, as the Knicks are threatening to blow what
was a monstrous lead over the Lakers, how are you doing like the Golden
State Warriors, who I feel like we have to lead off with if only
with this mention, I'm doing fantastically, just exceeding expectations across the board,
confident, assured in our greatness and potentially getting better as the season goes on.
And recognizing Draymond Green probably that your extension eligible this Offseasonance, You're so
cynical, That's what a terrible thing to say. I'm sure that's got nothing
to do with it. I actually and I'm not even being a troll.
One of the questions that I have to throw at you has to deal with
the Golden State Warriors. But I wanted to ask you first about this is
dated by this point, but the Kings fired Luke Walton definitely not a decision
that they could have made over the offseason. You needed the seventeen game sample
that he gave you the regular season to figure that out. Name Alvin Gentry,
their interim head coach. What do you just make of just the King's
organization at large at this point? Because this is this is just so much.
Walton probably shouldn't have gotten a job in the first place, just given
the sexual assault allegations that we're out there at the time and are still out
there as far as I know, But he probably should have been fired already.
He also wasn't like the problem. Getting rid of him is not the
antidote. I guess my points. I'm just curious, like what you think
of just this entire thing. Yeah, I mean it's well, where do
you even start? Really? I think I think so, Yes, it
made sense it made sense to fire him, right because the Kings, I
guess, are disappointing as certainly based based you know, measured against internal expectations.
I think it's you know, some of the reporting that's coming out now
and has been around for most of this year was that they really did want
to make the playoffs this year, or at least get to the playing.
They're not currently in that position, and it sort of seems like they have
the talent to at least be playing a kind of level. So yeah,
you get rid of him. But then, like you said, and like
everybody else has said, how on earth have these three weeks a month of
games? I guess it's a month now, you know, meaningfully changed what
you thought about Luke Walton coming into the seat, Like everybody said, you
should have done it in the off season, Like that's just what you do.
I think the other big problem is it feels like, for a while
now the Kings have had a coach who was not hired by the general man
that's in charge, and so it's sort of like there's just a shelf life.
And that was the case with Walton and Monty McNair. Obviously there's just
a shelf life. I mean, things have to go incredibly well. It
seems like for a coach that the GM did not hire to last, you
know, as full contract or whatever. They certainly can't go badly, which
they did. I just think, you know, overall, it just has
to be pinned back on ownership, right because there's only one constant in all
this, and it's just you know, ownership. The vecrona DVA being sort
of the figurehead of all that, has just been impatient and you look at
all these other teams that have been bad, but bad you know, as
a means to an end, you know, to stockpile draft picks, to
strip rosters down to whatever. You know, the thunder and extreme example,
like the process Sixers began and ended while the Kings were dicking around trying to
make the hate seed right like that, that whole thing started and finished.
The Rockets will probably be good before the Kings are good, you know,
and they they're starting all the way over. So the unwillingness to just you
know, really commit to starting over and then sort of getting it wrong when
you've been bad enough to actually start over aka badley. You know, it's
just bad luck, it's bad management, it's impatience, it's all that stuff.
It's the reason they've got a playoff drought. That's you know, almost
able to legally drink. Yeah, and look they've been probably they are where
I would expect them to be about in the standings, hovering not inside,
but wafting around playoff territory. I get that this stretch in which he was
over which he was fired, coincided with you know, they're one and eight.
One of those games includes Walt'm already being gone twenty seventh and net rating
during that time twenty sixth in defense, twenty sixth in offense, and twenty
first in defense. So I get there was a level of underachieving. I
think one of the I agree with everything you said. The other issue here
is that there seems to be like this in he's impatient, the fact round
of THEIVA, the organization, the front office at large, because it's it's
upstairs at this point. But you also didn't make this decision until now.
You waited, and so you still have to pay him the same amount of
money like through this season and the next season, which is when he was
under contract for. So don't understand that it's equally damning, if not more
damning, that they have no fucking idea how to self evaluate, because what
about this team that finished eleventh in the West last season. What did they
do over the offseason that made you think, Hey, we need to be
a playoff team this season. Traded for Tristan Thompson, drafted Davion Mitchell.
I know darn Fox is a year older. I know you kept Rashaun Holmes.
I know Tari's Halliburton's a sophomore. I get that. But you didn't
do anything to really bolster the wing rotation. And I do think there is
a level of squandered opportunity here because Harrison, Barnes and even Buddy Heald have
played some of their best basketball of their career this season. Reshaun Holmes is
just freaking solid. Rashaun Holmes still probably one of the most underrated players in
the NBA, even though I feel like there's a whole subgenre of Twitter dedicated
to talking about his pushhot right and what happens Just what if Fox doesn't?
I mean, what if Fox doesn't suck to start the year for them?
Are they in a different spot? And so I get like that level of
what if is m But they weren't. They didn't make enough changes and you
couldn't see the path to a ton of internal development to the extent that they
would be one of the guaranteed top eight even ten teams in the Western Conference.
And that's just incompetence if you expected a lot more, Yeah, you
don't expect them to go through a stretch for their one and seven. At
the same time, your overall record is just kind of indicative of the talent
I would say that you have, maybe you want to achieve the little bit.
I would describe that more so though, to Fox's performance, and maybe
just like this team, im perpetuity needs to put more of a focus on
transition. And so I get there were flaws, but nothing to me happened
this season justifies the timing of doing it now versus not doing it over the
offseason. Yeah, I would say the transition thing you brought up is a
great point because I feel like, you know, we've been certainly I feel
like I have, and most Kings fans have been harping on the fact that,
like you've got Dedaron Fox, and I think maybe last year they played
a little faster, but you know the year before that, and certainly this
year they're just like dearon Fox's best skill as his speed. He's not a
good half court player because he can't shoot, especially this year, he's making
like I think, under a quarter of his threes right now, and so
that's just not the way they can play as a slowdown game or any sort
of set offense. The way for this roster to succeed is to have Fox
run as fast as he can, as often as he can, and maybe
Buddy Healed spots up in Haliburton spot. You know, there's a there's like
a theory of this team that makes sense. And I think if you were
going to make one significant criticism of Walton, while I agree like he wasn't
the problem, it's that he just didn't have the team playing in a way
that maximized the personnel that it has. But then you know, look,
Fox just has to get better in year five or whatever. This is,
Like, you know, I feel like the last couple of years have been,
oh, this is the deer and Fox leap like to All Star serious
consideration, at least I do that every year for the last two or three,
and he's just been one of the most disappointing players in the league.
I think full stop Walton didn't like there wasn't anything glaring that said he definitely
should be fired, let alone, you know, a few weeks into the
season. But you could also say, like he didn't really if he had
to sit down and make a case, we're like, hey, this is
why you should keep me on as the coach, because here's what I've done.
Like he doesn't have a lot to say, I don't think during a
pretty short ten year. Yeah, and so Sacramento last year they were eighth
in average possession time per Impredictable. This year they're actually six, so they're
a little better. And the frequency with which they're in transition as a percentage
of their plays their eighth, And they're actually been fairly they're more efficient than
I remember in transition. They still just like I don't know whether it's if
you're going when they're committing turnovers. I feel like they're probably not pushing it
hard enough. And I thought darn Fox made strides in the half court last
year, but you already mentioned, like his three point shooting is broken.
Among every single player who averages five pull up attempts per game this season,
they're fifty nine of them. Foxes affect a field goal percentage on pull up
jumpers ranks fifty seven it's sub thirty nine right now, so those are issues
too, And it just felt like there wasn't even if they were playing at
a faster pace, it almost felt like there wasn't a It wasn't true transition
all the time, if that makes any sense. It felt like it was
just more early shot clock opportunities that might fall under the transition unbrella or semi
transition stuff where they maybe weren't even necessarily getting like the best looks up there.
So the fact, I guess the bigger crime is whatever you want.
It didn't feel like they had any sort of identity on the offensive end,
and they just haven't had a defensive identity for quite some time. And I'm
intaining this. They were better defensively over the past couple of weeks. Maybe
that's a function of their competition, but like last year, they just they
switched just basically everything. It was just it was a disaster. And I
think you look at their personnel, even with the absence of those truer wings,
I don't know that I look at this team and say they should be
bottom five. No, well we're bagging on Fox. I have another one.
There's nineteen players that have taken three hundred shots as of today in the
league and Fox is among them, and he has the worst tree shooting percentage
behind Russell Westbrook of that of that group. And again, to your point,
Fox should be a good defensive player. He's long for a point guard,
he's super fast. He put on like he should be much better.
He's not a good defender. Like so they just maybe that's on Walden right,
Maybe like these guys just not playing to the level of their potential or
whatever skill they have is falls to him. I don't know. Oh,
the Tristan Thompson has a lot to say about whether whether you need a coach
to motivate you or make you passionate or whatever whatever that was. Was he
wrong? No, I don't Maybe the messenger was odd, but was he
wrong? Because one of the things I took issue with the messengers very odd
by the way, is I saw you know, I think Rashaun Holmes came
out with the most ringing endorsement of Walton. But like everyone said, it
felt like they have this meeting where they all agree the party line was we
have his back. So that brings hollowed to me in the first place.
However, there are people that point out, like, hey, if they
say they have Walton's back and he resonates with the players, I'm I want
to make it cure that I'm not typically this person. There is no one
on this roster and the Strussing general is not good enough to have a fucking
say on the head coach. You don't get to have a say on the
head coach. You guys, you're terrible, like you don't. No one
should have the leverage to be like Luke Walton needs to stay. And so
if that's part of the reason why they kept Luke Walton over the off season,
I'm not pinning it on the players. This is front office, the
vetran at, the everybody up there first and foremost needs to be blamed.
The players and their feelings about ut Walton, Like they don't to me,
like they're irrelevant just because the kids are not good enough for anyone to have
that type of input. Yeah, it makes you wonder you always did hear
rumors that the fox was very much in Walton, in Walton's corner, and
maybe maybe that's want do you want this coach to stay? Maybe maybe that's
part of what kept or got Walton you know, didn't didn't get Walton fired
over the offseason. His Fox was like, I'm coming off twenty five points
a game. This is my guy. I'm gonna you know, I'm gonna
blow up. Not saying this obviously, you know, specifically, but he
could have vouched for him then because Fox has a lot less clout now on
a max contract, by the way, which that's looking a little scary.
Then you still believe, you know, I want to believe. It's just
it's been tough to watch this year. It really has. I don't know,
I don't It's one of those things where you almost expect, like some
unexpected piece of news to come out. We're like, oh, he's he's
sprained his ankle in training camp and it's been you know, bothering him all
year or something like that, just to have a an explanation for what's going
on. Yeah, I mean, look, he's his shot selection has always
been a little bit iffy. I feel like he has a loosey, goosey
handle this season more than ever two and he's exchanged both looks at the rim
and three pointers, and those have just translated into more mid range jumpers,
which even if he's hitting them at a slightly above average clip relative to the
rest of the league. That's just not the situation you want to go to.
I also wonder how much he's been because his rim frequency is down a
little bit, not a Tom is Ton, excuse me, he's finishing around
the rim has dropped a bunch, and he's not getting as many free throws.
His free throw tenth rate has dropped by not a huge margin, but
by more than six points. So yeah, is he being impacted more by
the rules. I don't think it's on a level or scale of James Harden,
but is that part of it. I do think his shot selection is
like, is not great. Yeah, I think, well, like his
foul drawing, you know, certainly two years ago and last year pretty cool,
like elite, like he was really really good at taking contact and finishing
or getting to the line. And I just think anecdotally, I think I
think you can't rule out the way that the officiating has changed for anybody.
I think that's a real factor this year. I think it's a good thing,
by the way, but I think it has affected stuff. The numbers
bear that out. You know, offense is way down, free throws are
down, all that stuff, but I think he looks he doesn't look the
same. He's not, He's not that burst isn't there as often. He's
not just launching into guys, taking contact and finishing as often as he did
a year ago. So that's why I keep I wonder if if he's if
he's all the way there physically, I just I don't know. Yeah,
it goes beyond like the just the free throw volume too, and his free
throw shooting has never been great. No, that's another problem. But like
the because I guess they're tighter with the whistles, it's harder in general to
finish around the rim, and we've seen I think it's creeped back up.
But like the average person or shots that are going in around the rim,
rim has dropped dramatically. I think we've we've obviously seen the bigger drop off
from three point range. For now. We'll see if that goes up,
but that could be another factor of it too. And look, he look
he hit like forty percent of his step back threes last year and it was
like a real weapon in his arsenal. So I'm hopeful that it will come
back. And to what you said, I do that I didn't really think
of that. Maybe there is something where it's like a sprained ankle or wrist,
and we just don't we don't know the full extent of it right now,
just making excuses. I will start off our big picture questions though,
with one about the Kings. Okay, will they be sellers at the trade
deadline? Because they can't be buyers, I guess unless you want to involve
yourself in the Ben Simmons sweepstakes. So if you want me to frame it
as I think it'll be buyers or sellers with the trade deadline, and I
don't mean to I have a couple of questions about the trade deadline. I
don't mean to force this to the four of the NBA discussion because I know
there's a huge section of fans now that seemed very anti transaction. But is
something in the back of my mind that I'm thinking of, which I'll talk
about with one of my other questions with this team specifically, though, it's
just like, you're so aimless right now when you look at the talent on
the Thruster, I don't there's no clear path unless you shut everybody down to
just bottoming out and getting another top pick. And then also you're just not
good enough and even young enough, because okay, you have Mitchell and Haliburton,
even Fox, but where is the internal growth coming where you're going from
twelfth to seventh or sixth whatever it is in the West. And I'm not
saying you need to look at moving Fox. I would say Fox, Halbert
and Mitchell should be viewed as part of your core unless you have the chance
to acquire this transcendent star. But when you look at Harrison Barnes is going
to be the name that comes up, Buddy Heald's going to be a name
that comes up. Rashaun Holmes is just older and he's a great player.
Is that someone you look at moving as well? And so I'm curious as
to what you think is going to happen or what you think should happen with
the Kings as we approach, not approach, but as we get closer to
the deadline in February. No, it's a good question. I think.
I think the Walton move is the move you make before you start pulling those
triggers. And I think Alvin Gentry will get a chance first of all interim
head coach. Extraordinary I've read today this is the fourth time he's taken over
a team. Just no better. He's worked in some capacity for nearly every
organization in the league at this point. Isn't that wild? He's I mean,
he's like the ultimate journeyman. He's been, he has been. It
feels like he's been everywhere in the last five years. Like, let alone
the preseason and he worlded David Griffin for playing piano in Zion Williams's room for
him, which didn't actually happen apparently, but it's so I think. I
think interim head coach extraordinary Alvin Gentry is gonna get I don't know, because
the Kings are so fickle. He might get like two weeks, three weeks,
and like if things don't look markedly different, then yeah, for sure.
Because like Buddy Hill has been the subject of trade talks for it really
since he signed that contract. He's been in New Orleans forever. Wasn't that
actually traded to New Orleans? That I can't remember that, I'll look it
up really good, but I'm pretty Sureuddy he has just been part of the
trade discourse before he was even in the NBA. Well, I mean,
if he was it makes sense because it was his rookie year that he came
over in the Cousins deal. Uh so, and then yeah, from from
from that point on it was it was trade. Maybe there was like I
feel like there was a grace period where Kings fans were excited about him with
like midway through his rookie year, because it's like he got this. He
was not traded to the Pelicans. They drafted him. So I overstated my
position there. That's okay, every nobody's gonna remember so him for sure,
Harrison Barnes all for sure. Holmes could help a team that's trying to win
or has a better chance of winning. I do think I laughed at this
when people were saying after the King's picked Davion Mitchell that Fox might be on
the way out, Like I just thought that was ridiculous. I just thought
they believed he was the best player there and it made sense. And that's
but now it's kind of like it's a little plausible, I think, just
because if you're really maybe so this is again giving the Kings a lot of
credit. If this is if this is now Okay, we're tired of half
measures. We are like we're stripping this to the studs. We don't think
Fox is a MAX player. That's ath we made a mistake. We get
you know there is going to be an offer out there for him, Like
might have been nice to get Ben Simmons if that were possible a few months
ago. But I think Fox is possible. I think Healed Barnes to a
lesser extent, homes are going to be are probable like that they will be
on different teams after the deadline. I think that's how i'd frame it.
I think if we had to rank them, it feels like it'll be Barnes
is most likely followed by Healed Holmes and then Fox. I wouldn't be opposed
to a Fox trade, I guess I would. I still wouldn't move him
for Ben Simmons. I don't know. I mean maybe, and the Celtics
aren't going to offer you Jalen Brown, I think, And it would also
like, what is your endgame at that point? If you're moving Fox,
I think you want the pick special. I don't think you want the player
unless he's unless it's Shay Gil just Alexander maybe, and even that is just
like, well, he's on his MAX deal too, he's he's super young,
but how much closer does he bring you to to winning? And so
I think I would need like, you know what if Oklahoma City decided they
just want to pair Fox and che Gilosaxander together and you can get giddy.
Plus you know a few of their trillion picks that they have. I'm just
I haven't thought about Fox trade destinations because I wouldn't move. I'm still so
high one. But I think it would need to be that situation because I
think if you're moving Fox, wouldn't the goal be to bottom out? I
guess it depends on if there's another star that becomes available. I what I'm
curious is to whether anything nuclear goes down with this iteration of the front office,
because at this point, I know this, this is McNair's first coaching
higher, it still feels like we're at the point where we're going to be
looking at his body of work, and so he is very much going to
be like you know, exact giving for his job. Yeah, although he's
drafted well, I mean, he's two good, two good drafts. I
think I think he gets Halibert and credit right because he was installed. Maybe
I don't maybe I'm getting that wrong. But you know, I'm not getting
a D box credit for Tyres Alibert. No, No, Martin. He
gets credit for Badley. So that would be the thing that I'm curious about,
because I still think it's more likely. Is the way I'll frame this.
I actually don't think they're gonna end up doing anything nuclear. It feels
like it's gonna be very much to do about nothing like last year's trade deadline.
I do feel like they're more likely to go the Ben Simmons or Pascal
Siakam route if Toronto decides to make moves than they are to not only not
even Fox, but I still think they're more likely to go the we want
to acquire a high impact win now player than they are to even trade Harrison
Barnes. That just and maybe that's me just being subscribing too much to the
King's manstra So you know, I don't know, but to me, it
feels like there's still I don't know if anything's going to materially change in their
direction while this front office is in place. And maybe it's not even the
fault of McNair, but it's just you've now been there so long that I
don't know if you're going to get the opportunity to hit reset, And I
do think they had the opportunity to hit reset under McNair a couple of times.
Now. They very easily could have done it over this offseason. They
very easily could have done it last year's trade deadline. Yeah, you said
it initially, They're just not like they are poor self evaluators. They just
didn't quite know where they were or where it was reasonable to expect themselves to
be. And now this is this is what you get. Do you have
anything less depressing that you want to ask about the remainder of the season?
The remainder of the season, I don't know. I have a Western we're
talking about the Western Conference. This will switch gears a little bit, but
I think that there are clearly three top teams in the West right now.
This will be on controversial it's Golden State Phoenix in Utah. However, you
want to look at a record net rating just the general vibe, I mean,
the Sons of One, what is it? Is it thirteen in a
row or is it ten? Record? This it'll probably be fourteen after Wednesday,
would be yeah. So so the Suns look every bit, you know,
defending conference champs, the Warriors have been great, the Jazz just are
what they are. Who's the fourth best team in the West? Because I
have one, I think it is and I think I talked them up last
time, But there's like six teams you could pick. Realistically, I just
like, who is the other home court advantage team in the West? And
while you think about it, I'll give you mine, and I think,
and I don't feel great about it, but I kind of think it's the
Clippers. And you decide to pick the current fourth place team, you didn't
even think, yeah, No. I just looked at they have these things
called the standings, and I was like, who's behind those three teams there?
They were? No. I I because I think maybe one of the
more logical answers would be are not logical? But you could see someone saying
the Lakers. You could see someone saying, well, Denver or Dallas.
I mean, you know Dallas in theory, just as Luca's ankle sprain.
It's not like they're dealing with Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. Being out
forever like Denver is. So there's there's some options. But I just some
kind of in the bag for the Clippers, and I'm I am one hundred
percent here for the Paul George actually is a number one option renaissance tour that
seems to get it seems to have been kind of put to bed over the
last couple of years. I've want to resurrect it. I think my answer
would be the Nuggets if we didn't have the news that Michael Porter Jr.
Now maybe out for the season in addition to Jomal Murray may be missing most
of the season, and I just it feels like they probably lack even with
Wilbarton playing so amazing. The fact that their bench is so beholden to is
either you know, Bones Highland going to go off and that's basically that's the
question, or what yeah, or what are the green the green green minutes
look like? Defensively, when they're gonna be your two bigs, it puts
them in a really iffy proposition. But Nicole Yokich is so good that it
would not surprise me, so I want to pick them. I will not
pick the Mavericks because I just they are like the most blah team over five
hundreds to me for some reason, I can't I can't explain it, and
I'm not trying to. Maybe maybe I'm just predisposed to dislike Jason Kidd.
I won't apologize for that, but I'm still gonna go with the Nuggets just
because they've been so good on defense. I think Aaron Gordon is if you
made an all defensive team right now, he would. I think he would
make one of my two. I haven't dug into it. He's been so
good for them, and like he's been defending point of attack stuff. He's
been doing that for them since last season. It's probably something he's done underrated
for a lot of his career. If they're gonna hold there, I have
to imagine the offense reaches some sort of stabilization and they're not like incapable of
doing something. They do have you. You probably can't trade Will Barton at
this point because you don't have Murray or Michael Porter Jr. And you're not
You just signed Gordon to an extension. I think it was such that he
can still be moved. You're still just not going to move him, but
you can kind of between Monte Morris and the Greens that them on their contracts.
You can step ladder your way through an Eric Gordon trade is something that
I thought about for them. I just I have a lot of faith in
them after despite the struggles we've seen from the bench. I think it's because
of how good Nicole Yokich is and just how I don't know if I want
to use the word legitimate, but I do think, and we're recording this,
they've lost four in a row. I think that their defense is going
to finish marketaly better than LEE average, and that to me gives them a
pathway beIN. As we record this, the Blazers have kind of perked up.
I totally see where you're coming from with the Clippers, and I don't
know if you've dug into like the Clippers defense. It's second in points allowed
per possession. They opponents are just shooting, and I thought Paul George has
been pretty good on defense this year. They're shooting nine points better at the
rim when he's on a court, like ten points better from beyond the arc
when he's on the court. I haven't been able to figure out like what's
happening there, but his defensive splits are just wild, and I know that's
a team wide thing. And so you look at the lineups that he's in.
I just don't see anything that it should be just demonstrative of red flag
for that. I just saw those differentials, and there's I think when you
see certain numbers, even those swings, you're like, oh, okay,
you know, looking at Stephen Curry and improving the Warriors affective field goal percentage
by eight trillion points. Yeah, yeah, that makes sense. But when
you see that opponents are shooting like so much better from basically every spot on
the floor with Paul George in the game, it's like, all right,
well, maybe is it because they're not starting Karen's man, Marcus Morris is
only played in two games? Is there something there? It's just very confusing.
That's not a question unless you have I will. I would say I'm
always I think first of all, we're still early enough in the year where
opponent three point shooting that could just skew a guy's entire on off, He'll
have nothing to do with it, you know, like to take another team
to use Denver as an example. Right now, if I've got cleaning the
last updated to today, which I think I do, as we're recording,
so opponents are shooting thirty three percent from deep against Denver, and that's the
fifth lowest mark in the league. They're shooting sixty eight point nine percent at
the rim opponents are against Denver. That's the worst mark in the league.
So meaning that's not nobody nobody allows opponents to finish better at the rim than
Denver. So if we're talking about Yo kitchen, so much has been made
of as improved defense and stuff, I got a role. I'm concerned with
the at rim finishing of opponents. And I think, and this is the
caveat you throw in for every single team, and I keep doing it,
and I hate myself for it, but I can't stop doing it until we're
like halfway into the season. Opponents are going to shoot better from deep against
the Nuggets, in their defense is going to get worse. Like that's just
you know, we said it about the Knicks last year and it kind of
never happened, but it sort of has this year. I think if I'm
remembering what the numbers are, the Clippers just feel a little steadier to me.
But I think maybe to put a bow on this, Like I was
asked today, actually which conference is better in the East or the West,
And it's always been the West, and now it's like we're struggling to find
a fourth very good team and the East, you know, Blake Milwaukee's out
of the playoff picture I think right now, for example, and the Sixers
haven't been good. But like, I think the East's way deeper with teams
you could realistically envision, you know, making a conference final. The West
is like suddenly crazy short on those kind of teams. I just it's surprising
as like sort of a macro thing to look at, like we finally made
it, Like we finally made it to the point where the West is not
clearly superior both in like top quality and in debt. I still might prefer
the top quality of the West, just because Utah, Phoenix and Golden State,
but yeah, the East is definitely way deeper this year. And a
quick and dirty look again at the Paul George stuff, the Clippers are allowing
opponents to shoot sub sixty percent overall at the rim and sub thirty four percent
from three Those are low enough marks to where the swings kind of represent that
you're working from this elite baseline. And I'm sure every starting lineup member has
been somewhat impacted by that. That's a great question, though, So you
have Clippers, I cautiously say the Nuggets. I think the Clippers would probably
be choice too. For me, I don't have faith. And this is
coming from someone who just assumed the Lakers were gonna beat figure it out.
I don't. I don't even have a question for them. There's no we
want to know what's going to happen, but I don't know that you can
expect it to get that much better. I mean, we've seen the lineups
with Lebron russ Ad and then no bigs have done really well. Are they
going to be healthy enough to sustain that? Did they have the personnel to
sustain that? What does the defense look like? Wrong term? I just
have zero faith in the Lakers is my point right now. And I predicted
that they would hit their over I think they were at fifty three point five
wins this year. I said they were going to get to at least fifty
four. I guess they are the team, though I guess you would look
at as how many times am I going to say I guess, well,
I make this point that maybe could sneak into that, because it doesn't.
It feels open ended. But also if you told me it was Dallas that
was fourth or the Blazers, I might feel like it was a stretch.
Maybe not. I don't know, No, I mean I don't really have
an overarching thought or question for the Lakers either, but like it feels so
I've been kind of harping on this, and so Lebron's average shot distance,
have you been like, have you seen this reference? You know, this
year as an indicator of his decline that's like finally really happening. His average
his average shot distance is fifteen point two feet. It was thirteen nine last
year, twelve nine, the year before twelve three, the year before ten
nine. So obviously we're trending up. And he's never had anything over fourteen,
let alone a fifteen feet. He's taking half the shots from three,
which has never happened before. Let me make sure that's exactly correct. Anyway,
he's taking the highest share of shots from deep that he ever has,
and you're seeing I don't know if this is just my Twitter silo or if
it's gotten into yours too. Ours can't be that different. There's these clips
of him just not finishing at the rim, like getting you know, having
his being deterred or not elevating. There's just all the all the decline in
athleticism stuff. All the signs are there, like visually and statistically. And
so while I want to pick the Lakers as a team, that's like,
yeah, they'll just I mean, Lebron will figure it out. It's happened
every year for twenty years. They have Anthony Davis, They'll they'll somehow go
get a wing. Well, they'll figure out how to use Russell Westbrook as
like a pick and roll big man or something. The Lebron decline, which
is it's like it's real, It's finally really happening in demonstrable ways like that
kind of rules. That puts a big dent in you know, feeling confident
about putting them up. You know, in that consideration, I don't think
like I could go probably six teams deep I think in the West before I
would get to the Lakers, you know, in that hierarchy, just just
based on right now, because you know, maybe they will figure it out.
But I'm less optimistic than usual about them and these that's not a hot
take, is Howard? Nothing? You said they are spicy, Yeah,
common sal and like it had to happen eventually, right, But it's just
we thought the Lebron declimb would happen seven years ago. It's just it just
had to happen eventually. I'm still hopeful that maybe he'll just be fine,
but he's gonna turn thirty seven in December. I don't know it was it's
going to happen if it hasn't happened already. I have a similar question here
to what yours was for the West. Who are going to be the six
playoff teams in the Eastern Conference like the six non playing playoff teams in the
East, Because as just we record this right now, only five games separate
thirteenth place in the five and a half thirteenth place in the East from first
place in the East, and so there's some level of egregiousness there where it's
no the eight eleven Pacers are not going to catch the top seeded Brooklyn Nets.
Just at the same time, there might be what two to three formalities
in that top six of the East who so who are you going to pencil
it as the top six? And you don't even have to give me the
order, but who are going to be your top six in the East.
So my top four I feel pretty good about, which are Brooklyn, Milwaukee,
Philly, and Miami. I probably feel the least good about Philly,
just because, I mean, although the offense somehow stays incredible with and beat
out, I don't understand how it's happening. Tyrese Maxie is a superhero.
And then my fifth in that group is the Bulls, and that will probably
come as a surprise to anybody that heard us talk about the Bulls at any
point over the off season or for the last like two years, but they
feel pretty legit. The six team is really hard and for me, I
look at my candidates are Atlanta and New York and Boston, which is that's
a lot of shade at the Wizards. But I'm gonna need a little longer.
I'm gonna need a little more before I believe that that's real. So
against my better judgment, and maybe because we spend a lot of time the
last time we talked saying the Hawks were maybe the second best team in the
conference, I'm gonna stick to that and I'm gonna say the Hawks are gonna
be a top six team in the East. But that's that defense has to
get a lot better for that to happen, even though I think they've won
four or five in a row. So that's my top six. Do you
have anybody different? I have five that I've penziled in Brooklyn, Miami,
Atlanta is still one of mine, Milwaukee, and then I have Chicago because
maybe I'm just doing too much of the walk back since I was so critical
of them over the off season. But they're at least when you look at
defensively, they are exhaustive. You just when you look at how they're guarding
the perimeter, and so just between Caruso and Ball, Javonte Green being there,
They've people have mentioned this ad nauseum, but I'm pretty sure Derek Jones
Jr. Hasn't finished more plays as the role man this season than he hasn't
like his entire career combined in the pre seasons. I've not checked that.
But so they've just found a way to win. In spite of the Patrick
Williams injury, in spite of Kobe White I'm making his season's debut until forever.
In spite of Nicola Foutfitz entering these health and safety protocols then also not
hitting shots when he's playing, and I do, as many have pointed out,
there's a chance that demarda Rozen regresses because when you look at what he's
done offensively, can this hold for the entire season. We've seen other players
offensive efficiency go down with the new officiating, and I know his game was
never conducive to a certain necessarily style of getting calls, but like his efficiency
has gone up, and so just at his age, the stage of his
career, that seems like a red flag. At the same time, the
Bowls have the ability to shoot better from three and then if vouch when he's
if he's going to be held and shoot better, that's another level that they
can get to. There's still moves that they can make at the trade deadline,
like maybe you spice up your center rotation a little bit, Can you
pick up a wing at all? I don't I don't know. I'm just
gonna put my faith in them. The sixth team is so hard. It's
between the Knicks, Boston and Washington. For me, I don't think Philly's
gonna get there. They're they're cute, they're quaint. They've just had so
many different and a lot of it. You know, the players in the
league health and safety protocols. How many games is Joel and b going to
play in? Can we count on Seth Carry to be in the most improved
player conversation? Maxie feels he's been so good, but can he maintain this
for the whole level of the season. I think, and maybe this is
me getting drunk on the early season returns, I think I'm putting Washington in
there. Their defensive progression feels real, and they've done it their success overall
this season. They've done it without Ruby Hachimura or Thomas Bryant, and then
Damas Burton's was both terrible and is currently not playing. I think he has
an ankle injury well, and Bial was not good for their offense. Weeks
frighteningly average. They should be better than average, and I think we didn't.
Neither of us mentioned the Hornets, by the way, who aren't currently
in the top six. Their defense sucks. Their defense is not close to
good enough. That's I love. They're one of my favorite teams to watch
this year. I think I probably watched as much of them as almost any
non Golden State team. But they just like they if they if they are
not in the bottom ten defensively at the end of the year, I'll be
very surprised they just don't. They just don't have the personnel that That's why
I don't have them in there. Yeah, they're sitting fifth right now.
It just seems so stupid to exclude. To not pick the Knicks feels weird.
They eventually have to. I know, they beat the Lakers after almost
blowing a huge lead, they have to do something about the starting lineup.
I don't. I don't. Their offense is well above average this year,
but it just still feels like are not great on that end, and they
have sacrificed on the defensive end, in part because opponents are hitting a higher
clip of their threes. Something just feels off in New York. I don't
think they're bad. I'm not dumping all over. I'm not saying they should
blow it up. Maybe I'm like ten days away from doing that, as
the Knicks fan in me freaks out over every single loss, but something feels
off there. Ditto with Boston. Maybe now that Jalon Brown is back,
they'll settle into a groove. Their defense, even though I feel like they
switched too much, has been great this season. Marcus smart is just he's
a beast. It'd be nice if he hit more shots, of course,
and then even like I feel weird, they've been bad and disappointing, even
when you cake in the injuries, like Indiana has a lot of quality players
on the roster, and so it's just hashing out the top six. And
even if I told you to hash out the top ten where you only had
to exclude two or was it three of these teams, it still just gets
like, you know, if it's Atlanta in Indiana, or let's say it's
Cleveland and Indiana, that maybe you feel good about leaving those two the outskirts
of that conversation, but do you really Yeah, that's the thing, Like
I mean, so just looking at it now as you were talking, I
was thinking, like, there's like I like Atlanta and Toronto and Indie and
they're all outside the top they're all out of the plan right now. Like
so as you assume, certainly Atlanta has to get back into that into that
top ten, top six, I think for both of us. But who's
getting kicked out? And I think Charlotte probably is one of the most likely
candidates. Cleveland. I love Cleveland, but they Cleveland might be like a
for real five hundred team. It's just Sexton's out for the year. It
feels like injuries are going to catch up with them. How well are they
going to play during this stretch without Mobile and even Marketing still out. I
still don't necessarily have a ton of faith in the three big lineup, even
if Allen and Mobley make a lot of sense. And the other thing is
just once Mobile comes back, is there a rookie wall here at all,
because that's a real thing, like elite rookies have tapered off in the past.
Maybe there's not, but man, they've been so Garland has made strides.
Garland is really good. Garland is really good on Benny Osman's hitting off
the dribble threes. Ricky Rubio has been just great as a studying hand,
and he's even hit some difficult threes for some reason I done in one game
I think if I remember against the Knicks, that apparently keeps on giving.
And they've also played a really tough schedule, which matters because eventually that will
all even out as we get later to the year. But they've played among
the harder schedules, So don't want to write them out completely. But I
do think eventually the injuries and just the youth will catch up with them a
little bit. Yeah, I agree. The funny thing is, so if
you think Indiana is going to get in there and maybe Toronto and Atlanta,
I keep looking at Washington as the team that's gonna fall out, and I
just maybe I need to watch them more. I don't know, Like,
I definitely am receptive to the idea of if you trade like a negative player
kind and Russ and you get back like half of a rotation's worth of like
decent to above average NBA basketball players and your team gets better and like you've
added. I don't know, So I just need to be convinced by the
Wizards. But yeah, the East is like, honestly more compelling. I
think for all of these like we don't know, we don't know who the
best four, who the best six, who the best ten teams are?
It's great. Do you have another one? Any other questions? Oh,
let's see, I say that we've only done like four questions because that's how
we roll, Because we spent thirty seven of those minutes on the Kings,
just because that's what gets that's what gets all the people come to this podcast.
This is an Mr Slash hybrid Sacramento Kings podcast. I have an open
ended one for you, and this will put you on the spot because I
don't know what my answer is. Do you have a favorite player to watch
so far this year? Like someone you know? Not like I think Janice
is good, you know, but like not Steph. Is there someone that
you've watched more this year that you're like, you know, you find yourself
clicking through League Pass and it's like, I don't really care about this team,
I just want to watch this guy play. Yeah, Frank Nilikina has
been Dallas's best offseason addition, that's actually not so that is true? That
funny because you mean it comes from the heart. I love it. So
these are I still think I'm I'm skewed by just larger body of works on
the past. Step is my favorite player to watch, maybe of all time,
and it just remains that way now. So he's still someone I chopped
in this season, and I feel like I've grown more appreciative of how he
plays with each passing year. I really enjoy watching Devin Booker. There are
just wrinkles to his game. That I feel like I fall in love with
more and more. Last year it was just like the manipulation as as a
playmaker, the reads he's making, how he keeps defenses on their toes,
his ability to get got you. When he's snaking picking rolls, it will
get guys on his back. Hip. This year, I'm just like noticing
his open floor acceleration feels underrated. His movement off the ball feels really underrated.
This is just a you can quibble over whether you think Chris Paul is
more important to Phoenix's success. He doesn't turn the ball over, he shoots
in the fourth quarter, so there's there's an argument can be made there.
But Devin Booker is just I'm still not sure we as at the NBA media
outside of Phoenix, understand just how valuable Devin Booker is just by being on
the floor even when he doesn't have the ball in his hands. And I
think his off ball movement threat level and just the again, it is his
acceleration where it's like he's not you don't look at him sometimes and think he
plays particularly fast and the Suns are not trying to play exceedingly fast. But
if you put him in the open floor, or if you give him space
in the half court, on the ball or off the ball, like he
can change speeds so quickly and effectively. And so that's just someone as I've
continued to chop her into, I've really enjoyed someone else will saying that,
and I think this has got to be low hanging fruit at this point.
Evan Mobley my god, and maybe the shock factor there because I was not
super high on him coming out of college, and again I was not a
draft expert. I also feel like maybe I subscribe too much the idea of
why are we using this high pick on a big who doesn't isn't supposed to
stretch the floor right away? I had nothing, I watched, nothing I
read, Maybe I didn't read enough ever prepared me for what he was going
to be like defensively, and I think Summer League prepared me for his playmaking
a little bit. But even that has just been revelatory. And he's one
of the him and Jared Allen together too to see like these, especially at
Jared Allen where I can't. I think it was justin rowing of the Chasetown
podcast made this point because the way fouls are being called have changed. It
feels like screeners are becoming more important since we were at a point where James
Harden, like the Rockets when he was in Houston, they didn't even have
when they had clickupell was just like, you know, hang out on the
dunker spot, don't set screens because they didn't go and then go away forever.
So so those are three guys. Steph is always just going to be
up there for me. I and I love watching so many players, but
Steph is just it doesn't matter who he's playing, who's playing around him.
It doesn't matter to me whether the Warriors are winning by a lot losing by
a lot in a close game. He's just infinitely watchable. Yeah, full
agree. I love I love the Mobili pick I definitely if the calves are
available. And now I'm not gonna be watching him till he's back. But
my my deep cut, my deep deep cut is Herb Jones on the Pelicans.
Now, if you've never watched the Pelicans, like, good for you,
Like you shouldn't be watching them yet, but this guy is like I.
You know, we still don't have the metrics to measure this, but
you know, are definitively but like on the ball, I just there are
not a lot of guys that cause as much trouble as he does. There's
clips out there of him like stealing twice from I think it's Tyler Hero just
ripping him on consecutive possessions, and then he blocked up Paul George three and
like high leverage moment the other day. He's he's just like just a phenomenal
defender that if he could hit a three, I think he's I think I
saw the stat today. He's five of sixteen on threes this year. Uh
in whatever, you know, he's taking one a game basically. But you
could almost not draw up a better compliment for a brandon ingram Zion Williamson core
than a dude who can guard every position at an all defensive team, all
defensive team level and like maybe make thirty seven percent of his open threes.
Like that's just your guy, that's that's unique. So that's my my deep
cut, kind of in line with your Devin Booker thing E's zac Lavine For
me, I was super late. I was a zach Lavine denier forever.
I just thought, like than a COVID nineteen and I are just a little
yeah, like a little in terms of republic from a public health standpoint,
like a little bit. He's just so there's really not an offensive skill that
he doesn't have at like a B plus level at worst, you know,
like his pull up threes are super quick, super accurate, a plus plus
plus at everything. He I used to ding him because it was he seemed
like a guy that he had assist numbers, but you know, it wasn't
ever something that seemed like it seemed like bad assists or bad team assists.
You know, like he's got the ball all the time and he's driving into
three guys and throws it out and someone hits the shot. I think I
was wrong about that. I think I was wrong about him being terrible defensively,
like he's trying harder. It seems the last couple of years that's been
a trend. So I just, yeah, this is gonna be like my
Bulls apology tour, because Zach Lavine's really really good. I have nothing bad
to say about him anymore, and the Bulls are good. So those are
those are my my my top liners Lavine and my obviously, like I do
have to say John Morant too, because I feel like John Moranta's Seven physically
Impossible Things, some of which are not baskets. You know, every night
he's reached like a Steph Curry level or the tier below of just have to
watch and you're right, like highlights of Missus just duncans. What do they
call the Missus? Dunk attempts are highlights. It's not dumb, it's dunk
attempts. He's the best dunk misser of all time. There's never been anybody
better at missing dunks than him. My deep cut, by the way,
would be the Orlando Magic starting five, and if I had to narrow it
down from there, it'd be either col Anthony or Franz Wagner. They've been
that. That lineup, by the way, with Jalen Suggs struggling, has
pummeled opponents this season. But just Wendell Carter Junior looking at the basket,
hitting threes, making quicker decisions. Mo Bambas looked like an NBA player for
much of this season. Cole Anthony has some serious juice off the dribble,
friends, Wagner is he has more and I think I said this on the
podcast, more fuck you to his game than I ever really imagine dudes will
bounce off his shoulder. He had this like driving barreling dunk against the Knicks
a couple of weeks ago. And if Orlando's only played the Knicks, they
would probably be a championship contender. So they've they've been. They get tough
to watch on some nights at their level of bad because when you look at
Houston and even when you look at I'm trying to think of another, Detroit
is right there, and I think we're at the point now. Houston Detroit,
like, those are not teams that I necessarily want to, you know,
watch regularly, even the Pelicans. I'll watch Orlando regularly still because they
have not That lineup is fun. Whyn't you take that lineup off the court?
You're probably switching chants though, right, it's easy to be It's much
easier to be optimistic about Orlando than some of those other teams you mentioned,
just because it does seem like they have a handful of guys or like there's
something there's something there, you know, like Wagner just like has there ever
been a rookie that arrived more like, you know, as advertised, Like
his whole thing was he's gonna fit in. He's gonna make some make make
some threes. He's got a little off the dribble. He's not gonna be
a star, but he's gonna be awesome as like your third or fourth best
player. And he's already that. Like he's just he's stepped into the league
and he's just sort of good at everything. He's a perfect role player.
This, meanwhile, comes after a summer league performance in which they had to
replace the rims after every quarter in which he played because he was just bonking
so many shots. Right, Yeah, he's he's a He's the type of
guy that, like you're like, god, damn it, I don't want
to take him, you know, in the top ten because he's the upside
just doesn't quite seem to be. Maybe we're wrong about that, but uh
but boys, he slid. If he were, I mean, he could
play twenty five thirty minutes for like almost you know, almost any team.
It seems like, I mean, he he would have a place just about
anywhere. It's very rare to say that about a rookie. I was convinced
he couldn't play the three. And if you need more evidence that, you
shouldn't listen to my my draft cakes. That would be that would be another
one. Here's a question for you, and it sort of lines up with
the Eastern Conference packing over. I mean we mentioned pretty much every team during
that discussion, so it's probably hard not to line up with that. What
are the Raptors? And I'll do you one better, why are the Raptors?
This team, as a detached observer, is killing me. I probably
had too high expectations for them coming into the season. I know Siakham miss
time. I know that their recent slide has coincided with oj and Anobi's hip
injury. But like I, they're too good. I mean, just when
you look at what Gary Trent Junior has been able to do for them this
season, how are they? And they've quietly just I think everyone assumes that
they're good on defense this season and they've had their moments, but they're not.
They're bottom five in points allowed per possession at this point, and they're
actually you know, we talk about the during the King's Stretch that got Luke
Walton fired. Since I just have that pulled up, this wasn't something I'd
intended to look at. It's just in front of my face. The Raptors
have the worst defense in the league. Again, an Anobi's missed time during
that stretch, But what are they should they be better than this? And
is this a team that they don't feel like they're This is not the Kings
of the East, and I would hazard they're not even the Pacers. They
don't feel like they're going to get caught up in the chase to be seven
or eight. And so I'm wondering if you think they should or I could
foresee a scenario in which they're at the deadline and they're looking at becoming sellers,
And what does that even look like when you take stock of their roster
beyond Scotty Barnes. Well, as I have to for all this stuff,
I start with opponents. You're hitting thirty seven point eight percent of their threes
against Toronto, which is the fourth highest rate in the league. So that's
one thing. Their defense is kind of baffling. And I was working on
something the other week and the stats are still essentially they still bear this out.
So Toronto is the number one offensive rebounding team in the league, and
they also somehow inexplicably keep teams out of transition like to the second, first
or second lowest frequency in the league. So which with the case I was
making, is that that speaks to like they got a bunch of six six
to six, you know, nine great athletes that can cover a ton of
ground, because I don't know how else you lead the league in offensive rebounding
rate and also never get run out on something like that doesn't compute. You
can't have bodies, you know, on both ends of the floor at the
same time. They also forced a ton of turnovers, which I think also
speaks to what's a lot of that's Gary Trent being like juiced up on battery
acid when he plays defense. But did you see the author he who must
not be named, is just what I'm gonna say because I've not agreed with
a lot of the things he's written in the past of their defensive ladder Defensive
Player of the Year ladder. Wow, I can't talk because I almost know.
Gary Trench Junior was third on his early season deep I thought that was
a little ambitious, like period like for the whole league or on the roads
for the whole league. He was third. I have an issue with that.
So, but so you're just to your point about him him forcing Yeah,
he forced a lot of turnovers and if that's classic, oh, look
at how many steals he's wish Yeah, I mean, like I might point
to og and and Obi as a slightly better defensive player of your options.
Been really good on defensive year. Sure, sure, I know it's you
know, third, it's a little okay, wait, third on the team
that ranks twenty fifth, And yeah, he's really making an impact that Gary
Trent. Uh No, The Raptors are confounding, and I think, like,
you know, I've just been in the bag for them forever. There's
the championship hangover, even without Kauai and Ibaka and Kasoul and you know Lowery
now, like basically that core is not really there. But I think Nick
Nurse is a good coach. It doesn't make sense to me why they're so
bad because they have so many players. I like, you know, like
I like Siakam even though I guess I don't know is it cool to be
down on Siakam now? Or where are we as an NBA collective? It
feels like we were over the moon and when he broke out and then suddenly
he was overrated and suddenly he was exposed in the playoffs and now like,
I don't know what he is, but I still like him. There has
been an over correction I think on both sides to where people and maybe I
fall into this spectrum or too intent on defending him and what he can be
and what he does even when he's not his best. Then there were just
people that are too low on him. I would absolutely give up real stuff
assets to acquire him if he's available over your trade. That would not be
if I'm the Kings or if I'm not. I've done a lot about the
Timberwolves. You know you mentioned Ben Simmons and Towns. Yeah, something that
would be exceedingly fun. They're probably other teams that would obviously fall into Yeah.
So so I like him. Everybody loves Scotty Barnes. I love Anna
probably more than most. No, you don't move any of those guys.
So I think ultimately there were rumors that like make you well, obviously they
sort of packed it in last year, right like they they sort they very
much packed it in last year. I think they could sort of very much
packing in this year. I don't feel like they'll be house cleaning because I
don't know they I like their best players, like I don't, I don't
know, and like you're gonna trade Van Bleet maybe, like that's you or
Siakam. I certainly Barnes and anna Ob are going nowhere, So if you're
gonna make a significant move, it'd be one of those two older, uh,
you know, high end guys. I think they're more likely to tank
and try to get another high lottery pick. And then suddenly you've got Barnes,
an and Obi whoever you take fourth or fifth or whatever depending on your
luck, and Van Fleet and Siakam and you see what you you know,
I think that's more likely. I think they'll be better. I would like.
I just it doesn't again, it doesn't compute why they aren't better.
I just I like so many of their players. I like the coach.
I don't know. He's making you sad too, I understand, Yeah,
Chris buche made me sad. Yeah, Kim Birch. Everybody loves Kim Birch.
Although now I think kim Birch has become overrated because for a while there,
kim Brich was the guy that was like, you know, who can
Kim Birch kind of had Rushaun Holmes this corner for a while, but like,
there's this center that nobody knows about that's actually eas as good as Holmes
obviously, but Birch was that guy for a while, and now I think
it's like, not a great option for a lot of minutes at center.
I would I think I fall into what you said, and they have enough
cantalizing young talent or an established talent that you can probably get away with saying,
Hey, Van Fleet, Siakam at Anobi, take you know, March
through or excuse me, take like you know, yeah, March through the
rest of the season off or whatever. I do wonder if they should look
at because they do seem like they need a more I don't want to say
traditional presence in the front court because I'm very I like unconventional front. You
just don't view Siakam as someone who can be your every rep center, which
they do not. I think that's been pushed over the past two, if
not more, seasons. Maybe you do look at moving him, and I
would be fine adding another top pick to this court, because I'm with you.
I like all their good players. It's tough to imagine them moving at
Anobi He's on what might be the best contract in the league when you look
at the extensions that when you look at the Michael Bridges got and you look
at the money that Miles Bridge is about to get. I Fred van Fleet,
I could see a scenario where they move him, but I feel like
they're married to him pretty firmly. If you don't take Jail and Suggs.
And it's not to say if they should have that, Suggs will be the
better player. If anything, Barnes has clearly usurped him at this point.
The fact that they went the Scottie Barnes route, yeah, informs on how
they want to build their team, but I also think it instructs how much
they really like Fred van Fleet, and so Siakam sort of seems like if
they're gonna make the big move, that selling move, that would be it,
because they're clearly not going to be buyers. I just still if they're
healthy, I could see them making a run. And again they're as we're
talking about them, like this is the route they're gonna go because they're twelfth
in the East. Twelfth in the East just means you're, you know,
two and a half games out of fifth place right now. Yeah, right,
So they're a team that could go on a tear. I think it
re entered the discussion, but if you get closer to the deadline, I'm
just curious if his name gets floated around and I there should be interest because
there are teams that I could just rattle off that I would be super intrigued
to see him on. I agree, I agree, I have. I
have like a handful of like little things have been bothering me type things.
I don't know if they're big questions, but they're stuff. Stuff really grinds
grant uses gears. There's yeah, grinds my gears or not even really.
So I've been thinking about the Jazz because you know, they're just sort of
a plug and play. We're going to win a bunch of games and be
a top four seed, and we're good at both ends. But I find
myself being weirdly and they have the second highest differential in the West and in
the league actually, I think behind the Warriors. I'm a little annoyed that
they're not like meaningfully different from last year. So like they're big, they're
they're big acquisitions. I guess were Rudy Gay is number one, and he's
only just recently gotten back onto the floor and they haven't used him at center
at all yet. I kind of thought that, you know, I think
we all could have agreed that after last year, you know, a,
the Jazz needed better perimeter defenders or at least like healthier ones in the playoffs.
I guess, if you want to be charitable and be they needed a
way to play smaller. If if that, you know, if they just
couldn't figure out how to make a conventional lineup with Gobert and their work against
certain playoff opponents, like you just had to have a changeup, you had
to have a second option. And I thought game might be that that seemed
like a weird stretch to think he might be your small ball center or like
Eric Pascal, like that's not He's not a playoff caliber small ball center.
They didn't do that. They didn't get any you know, shut down wing
defenders on the cheap, which is not easy, but they didn't. So
I'm wondering where your thoughts are on Utah, because I'm kind of at the
point now where it's like it's not just wake me up when the playoffs start.
It's almost more like, well, I just I don't think anything's gonna
be different unless Donovan Mitchell like levels way up, and then then then nothing
that other stuff matters less. But I'm kind of disappointed in them, even
though I'll acknowledge like how obviously really good they are. Yeah, I would
probably share and everything you said. I think Rugae is just going to help
them even when he's playing the four because he's so long, and that gives
them a dynamic as an alternative to Boyanbodanovitch that they don't necessarily haven't even maybe
Joe Ingles because he's old and slower. But I do think whatever you're getting
from Gay you do have to worry about, like Joe Ingles aging or Mike
Conley is anti aging right now, but what does he look like defensively?
In the playoffs? I think Donovan Mitchell has gotten a little bit better defensively.
What's weird about them? And zachl always pointed this out as like they're
eleventh on defense, which feels low for them, and that's getting good backup
center play from Assan Whiteside, where that just makes so much more sense than
the Derek Favors fit. And I think look a lot of it is just
like the Jazz are It's not talked about, at least not something that I
see nationally talked about a lot. Their transition defense is bad. They are
twenty eight in transition opponent transition efficiency. When it's off steals they're twenty ninth,
and off live ball rebounds they are night teenth. And so they do
do a good job of limiting the well, no, they don't even do
a good job of limiting the frequency with which their opponents are in transition.
I'm seventeenth overall, which is just sort of blah. So that's screams we
need more. But I mean they could be a matter of there are plays
we're just like, Okay, well why aren't they back? But that screams
more like we need faster, quicker guys on the wings. And it's invariably
going to get to a point in the postseason where just feels as if Royce
O'Neill and Rudy Gobert are gonna have to do too much heavy lifting for this
team. Yeah, I just I kind of like always bristle it like,
well, what's the trade that this team is going to make, because you
just never know. But like I don't know. I feel like Daddy is
Young's going somewhere like maybe he's your your option to play smaller if you want
to. But I don't know who the shutdown. You know, who's your
wing, your guy you're gonna put out there that's like a little better than
Royce O'Neill, you know, or just to put out there with Royce O'Neill
in certain lineups again, you know, certain playoff teams. I don't know
who that guy is that's available out there that you know, might might be
potentially gettable for like a protected first and Jordan Clarkson or whatever. Hey,
I wondered if Jordan Clarkson was enough to get them Josh Richardson after last season
then he got moved from Dallas to to Boston. And I don't think that's
something Boston's gonna they already have Denis Sure you don't need Jordan Clarkson. Yeah,
you can still look at speaking of that, like Reggie Bullock has not
been shooting well for the season. Is that and the Dallas does need like
a secondary creator. But Jordan Clarkson has played or shot so poorly this year
that you just mentioned him. Plus the first round pick. What does that
exactly get you? I thought about Maxi Kleiba too, but he has slowed
down a lot. I thought last year was a combination of COVID and injuries,
and he's been banged up this season two. But he doesn't look the
same defensively either. And the player that the Jazz need is the archetype of
player that every single team in the NBA. Right, Yeah, maybe it's
a Harrison Barnes destination. He's not a shutdown guy, but he'd be what
is the what is the package? Yeah, Clarkson's salary and I guess you
could step like you know Clarkson and Joe Ingles is why would the Kings do
that? Right? Right? Yeah? If you're the Kings, you're just
trying to get I think, well, who knows. We just spent a
long time saying who knows what the Kings are trying to do? But yeah,
that's the whole problem. No, I don't know you got anything.
That was my Jazz question. We're really hitting all the teams that people care
about. We got the Kings, we got the Jazz. I have a
team that you're going to care about, and I promise I'm not trolling.
I'm not trying to start this narrative, and it's about the Golden State Warriors,
and I want to point out that they are first by a mile.
I think still in defense, are they not? They have the top overall
that riding in the league and the other thing that, yeah, their offense
ranks highly, but they have the best half court offense in the NBA right
now, So this question feels stupid. Do they have enough secondary shot making
to be this big of a threat in the playoffs? And look, they
have one the non staff minutes, which is absolutely huge, and their offense
has crept up to closer to league average in those minutes. By the way,
one hundred and seven point five points per one hundred possessions. That's the
forty second percentile. I will one hundred percent take that when Stephen Curry is
not on the floor. I think it comes down to whether you believe it.
And it's not even a Clay Thompson question for me. Do you think
Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Pool are enough to shoulder that burden? And if you
say yes, is it mostly because of how the Warriors play, because you
don't look at them as when they had Kevin Durant. There were situations where
it's like, all right, we need that guy to just go and get
a bucket. They don't play a type of style where that's necessarily what you
ever look for. At the same time, I do think it's it's an
element, a dynamic of an offense that you need once you get to the
playoffs. So I think that's a great question. I think, I mean,
coming into the year that well, there were a lot of questions because
who knew like what auto Port or Neminublitz or any of these guys had,
if they would all have anything, but that shot creation behind Steph Curry was
a huge deal. And Pool has been the main, you know, sort
of guy who's addressed at and you know, he and Wiggins I think both
had thirty the other night when Steph had a bad night and they won,
and then Pool had another thirty when Steff had twelve points against I think Toronto
help. Well that's so that's the answer, or that's the question. So
if you're talking if you're talking about like do they have enough with just these
guys, And we'll just say Clay Clay is not a shot creator. He's
a guy who's gravity facilitates shot creation elsewhere on the floor, but he's not.
You have the ball at the at a dead stop at the top of
the key, and you have to make a thing happen. He's not probably
be even less. So yeah, him up all the time or something he
was. Yeah, he was a functional pick and roll guy, and he
could throw a quick pocket pass and but that was like it was mechanical,
not great. Yeah, ruling him out. So in a playoff series,
you're only gonna need eight minutes, you know, ten minutes of like serviceable
shot creation when Steff's not on the floor and if you have a really good
defense, which they do, and I think that's very sustainable. Your bar
for how many shots you need to create and how efficient you need to be
with those shots is even lower. So I guess I'm saying that the answer
is a qualified yes, but only and it's not like, oh yeah,
I think Pool is the second coming of CJ. McCollum. Very different players,
but just the idea of a guy who's like he can kind of hold
it down for you know, several games at a time. If Dame Lillard
is out, type of thing like Pool is not. At that level yet,
and he's a very different type of player. But Wiggins can get you
a slightly below average efficiency shot like whenever you need it. You know,
he can get to his off the dribble two point jumpers. He can you
know, go get fouled. There are ways for them to score. And
I think just because they don't need very much and they have a little shot
creation, I think I feel pretty good about saying, yes, they do
have enough. But obviously, you know, it's you'd like it to be
a little You'd like the answer to be like an unqualified guess, but I
think you got to have like a couple of little qualifiers on there. For
now, this has been a common refrain throughout this podcast. I agree with
everything you said. With that said, it is still giving me pause.
If the question is are they prohibitive title favorites right now? And I'm just
not at the point I would still consider Milwaukee broken and Phoenix over them,
I'm not. I wouldn't definitely make that my answer right now. I think
Phoenix probably comes closest to me wanting to put them over the Warriors, but
it's ify enough of a proposition for me to think about it that way,
that's still you know, they might be an Alec Burke's away from being the
prevaive title favorites, which is not the end of the world, and you
can still win a title if that's your defining flaw. Yeah, I think
too. You might. You could make the argument like they've got a they're
like eleven deep and really more than that if like Jonathan Cominga has played in
short bursts and had like a handful of like, holy shit, this guy
can do some stuff athletically. He's been playing more than Moses Moody, which
is kind of surprising, I think, to a lot of people. But
you might see more from Comia as the year goes on. But the point
I'm making is they got like twelve guys, so they're really well equipped.
You can put a dozen guys on the floor right now and like get something
out of them in a regular season game, and that doesn't mean anything in
the playoffs. You need eight, you know, maybe you can get away
with seven. And so I think there's a case to be made that the
Warriors, especially because they're so hard to scout and they play so differently than
every other team, are kind of a regular season monster right now. Because
like you're just not going to be ready for them, and they just have
ridiculous depth of like this guy's pretty like Gary Payton the second has won them,
you know, change games for them, and he's there. Well,
I don't know tenth guy. Maybe he's a C with hands he so,
yeah, I would talk about herb Jones, like you can't dribble around Gary
Payton. It's like not allowed. It's it's strictly against the rules. But
yeah, so I think I think a regular season there, I think they're
gonna win the most games in the league. And I don't know, I
think I agree with you that they're in the class of like, yes,
this team is a contender, but to say that they deserve to be at
the top of that list, like with a gap between them and two,
three, four, I'm not I'm not there yet either. You've also much
to the great point about they don't really have the ability to shorten their rotation
when they're at full strength. They can, but it's besides Steph, dre
and Wiggins, who's the player you have Clay coming back from injury, so
it's talking to him like, what is the thirty five plus minutes per game
fourth player on this team if you get to that point, right, I
mean, that's a real question because it cannot be Iguadalada. Damien Lee is
real, real good fifteen to twenty minutes. He's not your thirty five minute
and I Clay is not going to be there. That's that's really good.
I mean you might look at them. I don't think they're going to do
anything, but they look like a team that is kind of ripe for a
consolidation type of move. Like I don't know what packaging a bunch of minimum
salary vets that are pretty good gets you. But the minutes, somebody's gonna
need to eat, you know, when this rotation shrinks, someone's gonna need
to play a lot more. And they that's a great observation. They don't
have a lot of Like Auto Porter's not gonna play thirty minutes. He can't
do it. And physically, Jordan Pool might give Steve Kerrhart attack if he's
playing, Draymond Green might strangle him on the floor. Like that's a problem.
I couldn't bring myself to ask this question as we wrap up about them,
mostly because I don't have an answer to it. Has their start made
it more or less likely that they would make a consolidation trade because there's the
element of, yes, there should you know you can win the title now,
you should make that move if it's available. Then it's also like,
we have the best record in the league. We don't have Clay yet,
we don't have Wiseman yet. And the other question on top of that was
are you all worried about how Wiseman's return could end up impacting like the juju
they built because they're their progression, what they're doing now really started last season
when they began playing without James Wiseman, and maybe they're at a point where
they have the luxury of just saying, well, we're not going to make
him a huge part of the rotation. Then we have Kevon Looney, Draymond
at the five. We've gotten good minutes from Numania the Eliza. At the
same time, if you end up basically punting on the first two seasons of
his career, then that becomes this huge deal that you have to tackle.
They're punting, Like so this is this is the thing every time, So
especially out here in California, like, and I'm sure it's national too,
but like, oh my God, the Warriors are getting Clay and Wiseman back,
can you, Matt, It's like no, no, no, no,
the Warriors are getting Clay back and Wiseman. Wiseman will also be healthy
at some point, but to like equate the potential impact of the two is
insane. Like Wiseman made them worse last year. He's not a good NBA
player like, let alone a good NBA player that deserves minutes on a team
that's got the best record in the league, and it's like killing every other
a good team at plays like Wiseman is going. So they want they are
in a position now where they're not gonna that's so there's a lot to say.
It's tempting, for sure, because you could be like, they're this
good and you could trade Kominga and Wiseman and a pick and really get no
worse at all in terms of your on court product this year and add somebody
at a decent salary that's really good, Like you could go do that right
now and make this team way better. I don't think they're gonna do that
because it seems to me, like Joe lacob is like, yeah, it's
like this is my flex Like we're having it both ways, like we are
going to be really good now and we have three or four guys that are
twenty three and younger that we think are gonna all be the Kawhi Leonard to
Steph Curry's Tim Duncan and like there we're all we're just gonna be great forever.
Like that's the vision, that's the light years vision. How how reasonable
that is is, we can talk about that. But I just think Wiseman
is not some that they're going to play out of a sense of obligation because
they've learned that that was a mistake last year. And Kuminga is kind of
setting a tone like he's he's earning minutes right through through practice and he's been
very limited in what they're letting him do. And I think that will be
the Wiseman approach, like if he because like it should look it should not
be hard to get Kavan Luney's minutes, Like he's just he's a stop he's
an the ultimate stop gap. He knows how to play with Steph and he
doesn't need the ball and like those are just two and he's a good perimeter
defender for a center, like those are what he does, so Wiseman should
be able to take those minutes, but they will not be given. Like
there's just no scenario where he comes back and is in the rotation like in
a meaningful way until he just catches every lob, gets every rebound. They're
gonna totally baby step him this year, I think, which because yeah,
why why why give him? Why why mess around with what's going on just
because you feel like you have to prove that you made a good pick last
year. It doesn't make sense. It is bizarre in the sense that when
you talk about Clay, you know he's gonna take someone's minutes. I'm still
trying to figure out who gets impacted the most. May returning with Wiseman.
It's not only we know who would be impacted the most, but you would
be inferior. Okay, with it come these minutes would go down. He's
just not based off what happened last year and how they're playing this year.
I don't know what his fit is fun Warriors. That though, by the
way, their defensive rating against top ten offensive top ten offenses this year is
better than their defensive rating against bottom ten offenses, So just the type of
season that they're having. Yeah, that's a that's a real that's a Dynasty
Warriors move right there, where they just well they're doing the third quarter thing
too, where they'll play down to the level of competition and they have like
six minutes in the third quarter where they just knuke whoever is there. You
know. That's that's another I have to say. There's a lot of like
weird little quirks that I forgot about from the half decade dynasty thing that are
kind of back this year, which has really been like a lot of the
fun part of this. It's so much fun. I don't like the there
has been this like creeping narrative of look what they were able to do,
like just to stay relevant this long and without really sacrifice. It's like,
no, they had a two year Yeah they were fifteen and fifteen, Yeah
there was fifteen. It wasn't a traditional rebuild, which is but like,
this is not a team that was actually they endured two years worth of a
relevance in the standings, let's say, because they were still relevant culturally esthetically.
But grant this was great as always a lot of fun questions here,
There's still so much that I just don't understand about this season. As we
get to the quarter mark, everyone follow Grant on Twitter if you've not already
at GT underscore Hughes. He will sometimes retweet people's tweets, or he will
sometimes tweet himself. It's always a treat when you see a Grant Hughes Twitter
activity pop up in your feed. Such a hard sell for you, such
a hard sell for you. Thanks so much again for coming on though,
and Grant have a happy Thanksgiving and for anyone listening to this before Thanksgiving,
hopefully maybe while you're traveling, or hopefully you don't have to travel all.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all. Be safe, have fun, eat lots of
food, and until next time, I'll leave you all with a shout out
to the one, the only, Dallas's Best offseason edition, Frank You Akina